Famitsu reports Wii U sold 308,570 units in just two days. Nintendo’s new system launched in Japan on December 8 and early sales numbers include December 9.

The top selling game was New Super Mario Bros. U with 170,563 units sold. Roughly, 55% of people that bought a Wii U purchased Mario. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate was the second best selling title with 110,159 units sold and a 36% attach rate.

Nintendo Land clocked in at number 3 with 78,461 units and a 25% attach rate. Unlike North America and Europe, Nintendo Land was not bundled the Deluxe Set. In Japan, Deluxe Set owners got an invite to the Dragon Quest X beta instead.

Media Create numbers should be interesting to see on Wednesday. Either way, this is around 3DS/Vita numbers, just going by memory. Weeks 2, 3 and 4 will tell the real story of how the launch went, since, as we’ve seen demonstrated recently, a system can begin to tank in sales right from week 2.

I think Wii U should be safe from a Vita-like situation, though, since the holiday period is “Nintendo-time” and they have Mario and Monster Hunter to keep demand stable-ish throughout December. Beyond that… it’s all up in the air.

Barrylocke89

Considering that Monster Hunter Tri was out when the Wii was already established and managed to sell over 500K it’s first week, would you say that 3U sold well on the new Wii U?

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

All things considered, I think 3U did okay. Monster Hunter already isn’t as big on consoles as it is on portables, and 3U is the fifth third-gen Monster Hunter game. It’s also the exact same game as 3U on 3DS, which was released just a year ago… so yeah, I think it’s doing okay for what it is and the conditions it was released under.

(sorry, I’ll reply more in the morning if you want to discuss further. need to get my ass to bed!)

xavier axol

“i think wii u should be safe from a vita like situation” well let me just say,… ouch (there was no reason to bring the vita here, to make your point. i’m sure that nintendo had some hiccups sales wise) . but also could elaborated more to how the wii u wouldn’t become like the vita (which from what i got from that sentence, was terrible).
instead of comparing two different hardware in sales, may be you could tell us how is the japanese media taking the wii u in both the hardware and launch line up. and how is it that, it has not sold out in day one?. i mean who doesn’t love mario or monster hunter? ok i’m been an ass now, so i’ll stop.

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

But the Vita’s the closest comparison we have. It was the last major console released in Japan, and it was released during the same timeframe as the Wii U last year. The primary difference is that one is a portable (which are, in general, more popular in Japan).

We can’t possibly compare the Wii U to the launch of either the 360 or PS3. The 360 never took off while the PS3 had an abysmal first two years on the market.Neither comparison is feasible or accurate. Thus, Vita and 3DS are all we’re left with, but 3DS launched in Feb.

AyaisMUsikWhore

But didn’t the Vita sell more on launch in 48 hours? In Japan at that?

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

Yes, but not that much more. And then, in the second week, it dropped like a rock in water, following which it’s been selling badly ever since with no signs of recovery in sight.

This remains to be seen, but I don’t think the Wii U will drop like the Vita did. Sony had no software that was appealing to the masses for Vita, which was why it failed. That isn’t the case with WIi U. While significant games have yet to be announced for next year and beyond, it’s looking okay as far as launch month goes.

AyaisMUsikWhore

It didn’t fail because it’s still on the market. That term ‘failed’ is being used too loose. I would say ‘sell up to expexpectations’ because technically it still is getting support. I’m not disputing that the Wii U won’t be in a Vita position because like you said Nintendo has great 1st and 2nd support that the Sony doesnt have for the Vita as of yet (besides Atlas) But it’s kind of unfair to relate it to a handheld that doesn’t have that much establishment as of yet. The Wii U is a console period. It’s launch should still be compared to its counter parts because that’s what it is. The Vita is not going to have the same support that the Wii U will get because it’s a handheld.

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

OK, come on now. I think we can agree that a console doesn’t have to stop being manufactured in order to be considered a non-success. Look at the 360. It’s still being manufactured and released in Japan. Is it a successful system in that region? No, of course not.

The Vita is not going to have the same support that the Wii U will get because it’s a handheld.

If anything, portable systems get more support in Japan than home consoles do, so I’m not sure what your point is here. The Vita’s been out for over a year at this point and has very little to show for it.

AyaisMUsikWhore

‘If anything, portable systems get more support in Japan than home consoles do’

But that’s franchised based.. This actually shows it. When hardware isn’t selling the its up to a major franchise to move the units. I guess that does show support but if the software is in development, you can’t expect it to sell off the shelves if there isn’t the main franchise waiting to be unleashed. That’s why the Vita is doing so bad. The difference with the Xbox is the Xbox doesn’t appeal to Japanese gamers. Not because it has no support. It’s not a system they favor. They unlike Americans favor both Sony and Nintendo more. It could be a nationality thing but they do. The Xbox however is far from a failure despite the fact that it’s not didn’t manage to sell high Japan. However it still gets support. It’s not completely dead. Games still come out for it. That’s what mean. A console or system is deemed a failure when it stops receiving support. If it still getting support, I don’t see it being a failure period. It’s just not selling up to expectations… Things can change, especially for the Vita

Elvick

The Vita hasn’t been out for a year yet.

LinkofCourage

It sold 320k in its first weekend, but fell sharply to 70k the very next week. His point was that Vita is the best thing to compare it to, considering it launched last year in December, with similar sales.

asch999

I wonder how Nintendo software sales number with Yakuza 5 released at the same time

ragingmerifes

So this will be like the new PSP.

Sebastian Lothian

Why do you say that?

Mizu D

PSVita doesnt have the Nintendo big name license nor does it have DQ or MH to help substain long term sales.

Sony doesnt have a big selling mascot like Mario or Pokemon. LBP tank hard on both the PS3 and Vita.

If anything, Wii U sales will most likely be somewhere near the PS3 or
Wii depending on its success but I doubt it will the PSP/DS/3DS numbers or the 360 and Vita level.

AyaisMUsikWhore

Where did Lbp tank hard. It sold over 5 million. That did not tank.. And if it did, there would be no part 2 or even avVita version… Stop it.

ragingmerifes

I wasn’t talking about sales, you sillies. I was talking about having Monster Hunter as a flagship game.
Seems like there are only pseudo-commercial statisticians these days around here.

landlock

In the UK there seems to be absolutely no fanfare about the WiiU at all.

malek86

In Europe in general, I think. Here in Italy, after a couple launch days woes, now I see stock everywhere, even the Premium unit.

Considering the eurozone crisis, the high price tag probably doesn’t help (I’ve seen a number of offers around already). Also, stores seem to be much more willing to keep selling the Wii at a lower price point. It helps that for the Wii they have a lot more games in stock that they must want to sell. Finally, that new Gamepad probably doesn’t sit too well with Europe’s generally more casual-driven demographic.

Minos

Actually, that is a good thing for Nintendo.

UK is known for choosing the “Loser” of each generation and always “Late” to the party.

landlock

Really the XB360 beats out the PS3 in the UK. I believe the PS3 is the “loser” this gen for what it’s worth.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000618639549 Aizat Muslimin

yep blu ray is more expansive than DVD

Juuu

I will say, I think the Wii U had a pretty solid launch line up in Japan. Even if this MonHun was just a port of an older title, it’s still MonHun, and they had 2 first party Nintendo games to launch with, one of them a Mario platformer. And those ALWAYS sell like hotcakes. Smart move, Nintendo, and good luck with that new console!

Göran Isacson

Oh yeah, that’s right, this is available in Europe now as well… which you wouldn’t tell what with the complete lack of advertizing that I’ve seen. Feels almost embarrassing for Nintendo to have this little presence over here in Europe…

Or maybe they’re doing what the rest of Sweden is doing and waiting for the Fimbul-winter storms to end so that you can put up posters without having them blow down from snow.

sd28

I don’t think they have really advertised it any where and seem content with a soft launch with minimal hype

CirnoLakes

Good lord the Wii U has had a successful launch.

Haters can hate all they want. The Wii U is doing supremely well and Sony and Microsoft are undeniably in a game of catch-up right now.

AyaisMUsikWhore

I….. Don’t think so. Nintendo came in the middle of a console gen that isn’t exactly over. They are playing catch up. I have a Wii U and love it but if the Wii U came out first before the Wii, then it could have been stronger. The games currently coming out for both platforms aren’t seeing light on the Wii U. You should take a look at that list… The Wii U has alot of catching up to do

sd28

they just launched the first 8th gen console so yes sony and microsft will have catching up to do

AyaisMUsikWhore

How do they have catching up to do? What game isn’t coming to the Xbox or the PS? Really? Sales wise, if your speaking in regards to sales.. Then yes, sure they have catching up to do. But game wise, support, networking, attachment, software, community… They have absolutely no catching up to do. The Wii U whole existence is about catching up because the Wii simply couldn’t. So no, Xbox nor PS has any catching up to do. They are already established consoles with and established community with established publishers ready to commit to those systems. The Wii U needs that. I think you need to take a look at the games NOT coming to the Wii U in 2013. And when the next Xbox or Ps console comes out, they will be continuing and adding to what they have already built
from , what would be, last generation. They will not catch up to what’s already expected from them. They will expand, add, not rebuild the way Nintendo had too. I know for one Sony might need to do a little bit of both but they are currently doing it as well as moving on to modern day expectations…

sd28

so you under stood my point then went on a rant about stuff that has nothing to do with it since we were always talking about sales

AyaisMUsikWhore

First of all that person who made the comment made a broad statement. They didn’t have say sales or anything so my answer was just as broad. I addressed the fact that your talking about sales and like I said, sales don’t matter becauseif they did , the Wii U wouldn’t exist. This myth about more having more attachment gets more games obviously was a lie for Nintendo. It may be true for the handheld market but definitely not for their console life. They sold more Wii than Sony and Microsoft combined but it showed nothing in terms of support like the other 2, so frankly like I said… Sony and Microsoft has no catching up to do. Nintendo does and will up to know. Check out that list one more time. Thank you

sd28

I like how you continue to miss the point they will have to catch up in sales that was the only point being made he never mentioned any thing else besides how success full the launch was in a article that shows sales numbers and nothing else

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

I’m not sure anyone will have any catching up to do unless Nintendo get their third-party support in the West sorted out.

sd28

so when the next consoles launch they will start at the same number as wiiu at that time with out any being sold at all ?

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

When the next consoles launch, they will be guaranteed a certain amount of long-term support from developers who currently look like they’re not interested in the Wii U. Hardware sales, of course, are another matter, but we all know software sells hardware.

sd28

oh i get what your saying now brain stopped working for a bit

problem is we don’t know anything about the software side of things for any of them as we only have a few announcements from Nintendo and nothing for the other consoles besides vague hints ,

which makes me hesitant to claim how good support for all three will be as we could end up with another ps2 style domination etc. that and I am not convinced most third party’s will go for ps4 or xbox 3 as i see most going mobile or sticking with current consoles as long as possible in order to maximise profits without upping development costs .

Brion Valkerion

Everyone with a wiiu in japan has been playing this only pretty much. And mario of course, seems to be the only games most people got.

doubletaco

Only 36%?

Suicunesol

1 out of 3 Wii U owners bought Monster Hunter 3. That’s not really a bad number for a game that’s been released a couple times before.

Why are we looking at GBA and PS2 numbers? Those are from about a decade ago and have no relevance in today’s market. And why would you leave the PS3 and 360 off the list, when those were part of the last major home console generation in Japan?

Where are you even sourcing this data from?

LinkofCourage

Those are Famitsu sales.

http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

They might be, but a source is appreciated nonetheless, so we can make sure people aren’t falsifying numbers and spreading misinformation. I have an especially hard time believing that Enterbrain have sales data available for every system except for his beloved PS3.